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Sometimes I miss my paper to-do list

I’ve had a running to-do list for a long time. These days, it’s on my iPhone, and I don’t really have a paper to-do list.

Sometimes I miss the paper list that I used at work as a reporter, because I knew at a glance which items were new and which ones were older, as well as which ones had been crossed off.

Usually, I would begin the list on Monday, writing in black ink, and circling high-priority items in a different colour. I would use the same pen to add any new items that came up the same day. The next day, I would use a different colour to add new items, and to mark with an asterisk any high-priority tasks from the previous day that I hadn’t completed. And so on throughout the week.

By Friday, the page was full – and very colourful.

Now, when I finish an item on my electronic list, I just delete it. I have a separate e-list for recurring items, which I mark with a virtual check mark when they’re done.

My paper list provided tangible proof of what I had done all week. Now, even though I know I’ve been busy, sometimes I wonder where the time has gone.